Klyde

Well the weather came around this weekend and I managed to get a little more done. I have installed the cross-member bushings, the DRM trailing arm mounts, the Banski trailing arms, the Banski Toe Rods, and the Banski Camber Rods.

Klyde

I also installed the Spicer solid u-joints, the spindles on the half shafts, cleaned the knuckles, installed the rear wheel bearings, and installed the modified sway-bar knuckle mounts.

Klyde

Do you slide the Teflon washer over the spindle with the dimple out and then slide the spindle into the knuckle? In other words does the raised edge goes toward and into the knuckle? Can you apply never-seize on the spindle and Teflon washer?

Klyde

Well my FSM finally arrived and this makes it a lot easier to move forward with the upgrade. I now have the half shafts installed using new caps and bolts. I also have the QA-1 shocks installed with poly bushings, the knuckle installed using new spindle washers and nut, all the Banski rods landed, and the rear spring attached with new poly bushings. I still have to torque everything down but waited till all the parts are in place. It is starting to look like a corvette again and I can actually see progress every hour I work on it. Putting it back together feels more rewarding than taking apart does.

Klyde

Got most of the parts torqued and installed an Addco 26mm rear sway-bar. I also installed some C5 adjustable sway-bar Heim Links from Ecklers by drilling out some new knuckle mounts and using a couple of Chromalloy weld washers to reduce the ¾” holes in the sway-bar to ½”.

89L98TPI

Looks amazing man.

1993C4LT1

Very nice.

Klyde

Routed and fastened the rear speed sensors this morning and then installed new slotted disc, rebuilt calipers, ceramic pads, and stainless brake lines from DRM. After that a short break and then I installed the OBX cat back exhaust. Can’t wait to hear it but I’ll wait until I get it off the jack stands. I just have a few adjustments to make and then tighten everything and re-torque all the suspension parts. Next will be the front suspension. Although that will only be a few new parts.

Klyde

89L98TPI and 1993C4LT1

Thanks for the feedback. It is a lot of hard work but it is also fun to see it come back together better than ever. I still have a long ways to go.

856SPEED

Nice suspension upgrade! I have suspension upgrade envy I must admit...my Z51 is still good but will need improvements soon...i.e. shocks, bushings, etc.

Makes me want to start now......good for you for doing yourself!

STL94LT1

Nice project!!

96 Vette CE

Nice work! Did you upgrade the band clamps on the OBX system? The only negative comments i've heard so far is that the band clamps that OBX supplies are junk.

Klyde

So far I have used the stock clamps but I have not run the system so who knows. If they are a problem then I will deal with it. Changing clamps is easy compared to some of the things I've do so far. They seem to be alright now but once I run the system I will have better feedback. That will be several weeks from now. Like several others the two center pipes are oval shaped where they welded the rear support tabs on and the one pipe needs to be cut by about 3/4"(The passenger side cat to center pipe). I also had to add a bung for the O2 sensor because they only sell cat-backs for 95's and under(Three sensors instead of four). None of these things are to worry about since the price is only $385.00. Overall these pipes are well worth the cost. Compared to Corsa or other systems you just can't beat the price.

tombrammer

really nice, thanks for posting, be sure and let us know the SOTP improvement in the suspension

383vett

Nice project

JoeUser

Wow, looks fantastic! So clean, looks like a new car under there, with some great replacement parts (I'm very envious)

Klyde

Moving to the front I removed a few parts and then cleaned it a little. Here again I’m not going hog wild on the cleaning stuff. I installed a 29mm Addco Sway-bar , new end links, new mounts, new poly bushings, Timkin Wheel Hubs, QA-1 shocks, Slotted Disc, Rebuilt Calipers, Ceramic Pads, Speed Bleaders, and DRM Stainless Brake Lines. While I was under there I noticed that the front spoiler was pretty rough so I replaced that also. Finally the girls back on her feet again. I just need to get a four wheel alignment and recheck all the nuts and bolts. I did take a short ride to seat the brakes and I really like the sound of the OBX exhaust. No highway treks until a wheel alignment so I don’t know about drone. I have the QA-1’s set at four and the ride was good but maybe a little soft. I might take them up a few more notches just to see the differences. The 29mm front, 26mm rear sway-bars are good match. No body roll so far but here again I’ll have to wait for an alignment.

LoneStarV

Please post your impression of ride quality with your new suspension set up vs stock. I know it will handle much better but does harshness and road noise increase as well? I'm also interested in knowing if that exhaust system exhibits any drone.

Thanks,

Mark

Klyde

Ok, I couldn’t help myself so I took a little cruise about. The car is tracking straight so the alignment must be fairly close.

Suspension:
The car is smooth and has no body roll on heavy turns at all. This thing is stuck to the road. Going over railroad tracks I still get rough bounce but now the rear stays put. No sideways bounce or travel. The only noise is the rear sway-bar on the right side makes a scrunching sound. The instructions with the front bar said to grease the poly bushing to avoid noise until the graphite can smooth things out. I did not grease the rear but did do the front. I may redo the rear if it continues to be a problem. I am getting a little extra soft bouncy feeling going down the road and may adjust the shocks up a notch or two to see what happens. It is smoother going down the road than stock but much tighter in the curves. I no longer change lanes when the road gets rough (rear sideways bounce). I’ll give it a few weeks to see if it changes. I am totally satisfied with the suspension at this point.

Brakes:
The BrakeMotive Four Wheel Kit that I installed took a little while to get seated but the car now stops the way it should. No noise. No dust. They will still need a few more stops to get fully operational but for $214.99 I am very happy with the results. I will point out that I also replaced all the calipers at the same time as the brakes so I am sure this needs to be considered.

Exhaust:
The OBX CatBack System has a deep, throaty, growl at idle and there is interior rumble associated with this. Under load it is louder than stock and has a deep mellow sound that is just what I was looking for. At low speed around town (under 1500 RPM) it has a mellow interior resonance that is louder than stock but easy to tolerate. After all louder is why I bought it. On the highway from 50mph to 70mph I can hear the exhaust but I would not consider it a drone. I can easily carry on a conversation and hear the radio fine. I have run-flat tires and they are much louder at this speed than the exhaust is. The exhaust is loudest at idle to 1400 rpm and at 1400rpm’s I would consider this a mild drone or resonance interior wise. Keep in mind that I have an automatic with the 3:07 rear so I am about 1800rpm's on the highway, way above the noisy window. As far as I am concerned the exhaust is just what I was looking for. Noisy strutting around but quiet enough on the highway for those long trips.

I will give an update in a few weeks after the exhaust and suspension have a chance to break in. For a few grand I totally reworked the entire rear end and sixty percent of the front end. I shopped all winter and got some great deals. My car has just under 60k miles on it and the rest of the car is in great shape. I’ll take a little break and enjoy the changes so far before going to Upgrade Journey Three. Next up will be:
New Roof
New Door Panel
Alpine Touch Screen DVD Player
RattleTrap Sound Deadening
Fuel Injectors
Spark plugs
New Belt
Filters
Replace intake Manifold Gasket